


On Litte Cat Feet

by KingFluffkins (YachiLove)



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Neil is a cat, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, because this fic does not contain bestiality, sometimes at least, very self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 12:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11668737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YachiLove/pseuds/KingFluffkins
Summary: Maybe Andrew has a soft spot for cats, or maybe he just sucks at refusing Neil anything. No matter what form Neil takes.





	On Litte Cat Feet

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from the One Shot OST, a game that I highly recommend because it still makes me emotional months after I played it. 
> 
> Cat!Neil looks like [this](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IowZT3F1akI/UsxgtqCQSiI/AAAAAAAAUSI/QtRDPuHmpJw/w1365-h2048/1527801_802486566444715_835397680_n.jpg)
> 
> Many many thanks to [unabashedtrashcollector](https://unabashedtrashcollector.tumblr.com/) and [SapphiraBlue](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphiraBlue) for correcting my English! Any remaining mistakes are mine alone!

Neil was going through the garbage behind what appeared to be a nightclub, looking for food. He could have just turned back to his human form to buy an actual meal, but ever since his mother died being a cat seemed so much safer. He didn’t mind eating thrown away leftovers anymore, by now he was more than used to it. 

The backdoor opened and two men came out, the smaller one wasting no time in pressing the bigger one against the door. Neil abandoned what he was doing immediately to dash under the nearest trashcan, making himself as small as possible. 

He couldn’t see much from where he was crouching, but his hearing was a lot better than in his human form, so he had no trouble hearing everything that was going on. Neil hoped there would be no bloodshed, or worse, the police showing up to ruin his chances of getting a meal from here. 

“Don’t touch me,” said the smaller man and it became clear to Neil that they were making out.

He was pretty annoyed about that. Someone had just thrown away a few perfectly good burgers for whatever reason and Neil was intent on being the first one to get to them. The two men being there was a hindrance but Neil could wait. 

“Andrew,” the taller man said, sounding breathless. 

“I said don’t touch me,” Andrew repeated and stepped away. Neil would have thanked the taller man for fucking up if he could, but as it was he just watched him sigh and disappear back into the club.

Andrew, as was apparently his name, stayed behind and lit a cigarette. Fuck. 

Neil had to decide what to do. He could hear crows cawing somewhere in the distance and he had no intention of sharing his meal with them. But he also didn’t know how Andrew would react to cats.

There were three main reactions to Neil as a cat: one was absolute indifference; the second was anger, usually followed by some kind of effort to chase him away; the third, and in Neil's opinion the worst, was instant adoration. The people who seemed to think he was cute saw his disheveled fur and dirt-covered paws and decided they needed to rescue him. 

A warm place to stay where his father's men would never find him sounded good in theory, but most people wanted their cats neutered, and Neil wasn't about to deal with that. It wasn't like his father or his men even knew about the Hatford family secret, so as long as he managed to survive out on the street he would be safe from them. 

Since Andrew didn’t seem to have any intention of going back inside, Neil risked poking his head out from under the trashcan to survey the situation. There were other trashcans in the city he could scavenge, so it wouldn’t be a big loss if Andrew turned out to be a cat-hating asshole, but he was nothing if not persistent and those burgers would be a nice change from half-rotten meat.

Andrew saw his movement and turned his head to look at him, his gaze unmoved. Their eyes locked for a long time but Andrew made no move to do anything other than smoke his cigarette. Neil deemed such indifference safe enough and dashed out towards the bag of burgers, dragging it under the trashcan as fast as he could. There he could eat in peace unless another animal like a raccoon or the crows tried to steal his meal from him again.

He could almost feel Andrews eyes on where he had disappeared but he was too hungry to mind. He didn't bother to separate the meat from the rest of the burger. He may have taken the form of a cat, but luckily he could eat the same things he would be able to as a human. 

He was about halfway through his meal when he heard the door open and close again and he was alone in the dark alleyway. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ 

Neil didn't spend all of his time as a cat. He was trying to finish high school as fast as possible, that meant finding places to shower, and using the internet in various places that had free WiFi. He had just arrived in Columbia, and although the city was really not that big, he should be able to stay for a while at least. 

He was tired of running, of never talking to anyone because he didn't want to be remembered, of constantly fearing for his life. He was playing with the idea of going to the FBI with all the information he had on his father, but his father was powerful, and Neil didn't trust the FBI to be able to protect him. 

As soon as he was done with classes for the day he turned back into a cat and either went for a run or looked for a place to nap. The way his two bodies interacted was weird but it was enough for Neil that he could take a run as a cat and feel the effects of it as a human. Neil didn't know much about how the transformation worked in detail, but it was definitely magical. When he turned into a cat, he did so along with everything he was wearing or holding. It was a relief that he didn't have to hide his clothes and duffel somewhere. 

He was back at the nightclub - the area obviously wasn't popular with other city scavengers, which was good for Neil, because even as a cat, he was better at starting fights than ending them. 

He wasn't there for long when Andrew stepped out again, alone this time. They had seen each other more and more often during the last few weeks and Neil knew Andrew enough that he only spared him a glance before going through the trash again. 

He was unlucky tonight. The trashcans were for once empty of any food and Neil felt hungry and sticky and disgusting. Neil was not happy about having to clean himself with his tongue, but he felt so dirty there was no way around it. 

It tasted as bad as he imagined, if not worse, but he soldiered on. Halfway through he realized Andrew was still there and watching him, looking blank but faintly amused. Neil chose to ignore him. 

That was, until Andrew took out a sandwich that smelled absolutely heavenly. It might just have been the contrast to the stench of garbage, but Neil could smell chicken, and he wanted it. Maybe he could make Andrew drop it - no sane human being would eat something that touched the floor behind a shitty nightclub. He'd just have to sneak up to him and be fast. Being fast was one of Neil's strong points. He could do this. It'd be a hit and run. Easy. 

Plan made up, he crouched low and slowly sneaked up on Andrew, who wasn't even looking at Neil. Neil felt confidence rise up in him but it was crushed when Andrew spoke. 

“Whatever you're planning, don't even think about it,” he said, eyes snapping to Neil. 

Neil stopped in his tracks and went for plan B. 

Begging. 

He started meowing, trying to appear as cute and as hungry as he could while keeping a safe distance from Andrew at all times. His message was clear though - _give me food_. 

Andrew looked like the type of person who hated cats, but then he wouldn't have stayed to watch a disgustingly dirty cat clean itself, so Neil was hopeful. 

“You're a pathetic creature, begging strangers for food like this,” Andrew sneered. If Neil could talk, he would have said something about pathetic people talking to cats, but he was too busy pretending he didn't understand while appearing hopeful and cute. 

Looking at Neil as if he hated nothing more in the world than this cat, Andrew sighed and took a chunk of chicken off his sandwich. He stared at Neil some more before throwing the chunk onto the ground where Neil was still pacing and meowing. 

“There you go, now shut up,” he said. 

Neil was busy chomping down the chicken, so he had no problems following that order. It was probably the best thing he had eaten in a long time. 

Neil finished as fast as he could and then sprinted off into the darkness, not looking back at Andrew again. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ 

“Come here, kitty! I'll give you a wonderful home!” the woman shouted somewhere behind Neil. 

Even though he was fast as a cat, he had to pay attention to the people in the street who naturally didn't clear a path for a running cat. The woman didn't seem to have such problems. Her shouting alerted most people to step aside out of sheer instinct and the rest were just rudely run over. Neil hoped someone would confront her and give him a chance to finally escape, but no such luck. Despite her small and slight stature, the woman intimidated every passerby around her. 

The day had started nice enough; Neil had found a sunny spot on a branch and spent most of the day napping. It was a peaceful few hours that were rudely interrupted by a delighted screech. 

Neil knew screeches like that, and they always meant a cat-crazy person had found him and deemed his cat form cute. It happened more often than he liked. 

So Neil took off running, only to be followed. 

At this point, Neil was desperate. This woman must have been running marathons for a living. It was the only explanation why he hadn't lost her yet. He was desperate enough that when he saw a familiar face in the crowd he didn't even hesitate. 

He made a beeline for Andrew and climbed up his side until he was perched on the man's shoulder. Anyone would think twice before trying to pluck a cat off someone else's shoulder. They naturally would assume the cat and the human belonged together and Neil was counting on that. Andrew, who hadn't flinched, even as Neil used his claws, shot a curious glance at Neil. 

Neil was tense and ready to fight. Andrew might have given him food that one time, but he had no idea how Andrew would react to such physical closeness. This was an act of desperation, but Neil was relieved that it seemed to be working out. Andrew opened his mouth as if to say something but was cut off by the woman's voice. 

“Where are you, kitty?” she shouted and Neil tensed further. 

She spotted Neil on Andrew's shoulder and to Neil's dismay made her way over to them. 

Neil hissed at her as she approached. 

“Oh no need to be shy, my little cutie! Is that your cat, sir?” she asked, ignoring Neil's show of hostility completely. 

Neil prayed to every god he didn't believe in that Andrew would say yes. That he wouldn't push him off his shoulder and abandon him to deal with this crazy cat lady. He watched as Andrew eyed the woman up and down. 

“None of your business,” he said and while Neil would have wished for a more certain answer, he'd take it. He licked Andrew's ear in a moment of thoughtless gratitude. Andrew started a bit. 

The woman looked put upon now. 

“Well yes it is, if the cat doesn't belong to you I'll take it home with me,” she said. 

“He doesn't seem to like you very much,” Andrew replied and Neil hissed at her again to prove his point. 

“He'll change his mind soon enough. Tomcats always get friendlier once they're neutered,” the woman said. She was obviously insulted by the sheer thought that a cat wouldn't like her. Neil started to yowl threateningly. 

Andrew didn't even grace that with a reply, instead turning around and walking away. The motion jostled Neil a bit but he held on. He carefully twisted around to see the woman's reaction and wasn't disappointed when he saw her gaping after them. This had gone better than he expected. 

Andrew walked for a few blocks and Neil was sure the woman wasn't following them. He was finally rid of her. Just as he started thinking about what to do next, Andrew spoke up. 

“Is the stray planning on sticking around now?” he asked. He was clearly not expecting a reply, though few would when talking to a cat. 

Neil took this as his cue to leave, but just to be annoying he didn't jump off of Andrew's shoulder before bumping his head into Andrew's temple and licking a strip up his cheek. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ 

The employees of Eden's Twilight, as Neil had found out the club was called, remained wasteful as always. This led to more and more meetings between Andrew and Neil. Andrew was obviously fond of Neil, if reluctantly so. Whenever Neil begged for food - which was often because he was an instigator, and the muted emotions on Andrew's face when he did it were funny to watch - Andrew would eventually give in. He always insulted Neil while doing so, but Neil could tell it was an act - when he realized Neil preferred chicken to any other meat, Andrew started bringing that with him more often. 

Tonight Andrew was tense as he left the club. His face was blank, and he lit three cigarettes before giving up and just sinking to the floor, uncaring that it was absolutely filthy. Neil had never seen Andrew like this. Something had obviously shaken him and he was doing his best to hide it, even from himself. 

Neil didn't know what to do. It had been a while since he had this much contact to another person, and despite knowing better, he found himself caring about Andrew. He also knew that Andrew didn't like to be touched, but he was unsure if that only extended to humans, or if it included animals as well. Since Neil had apparently lost his sense for self preservation, he approached anyway. 

Maybe he just trusted Andrew, he thought, but buried the thought immediately. _Don't trust anyone_ , his mother had made him promise with her last breath. 

He walked slowly and meowed to announce his presence. Andrew looked up and stared with blank eyes. He made no move, just kept staring, so Neil soldiered on and gently bumped into Andrew's outstretched foot. Andrew still didn't react, so Neil grew a bit bolder and placed his front paws onto Andrew's shin. When that still didn't get a reaction, he planted himself on Andrew's lap and started purring as loud as he could. 

That finally merited a reaction. Andrew scoffed, like he did every time he called Neil an idiot, but nonetheless started running his hand along Neil's soft fur. Neil forgot how good it felt to be petted, so without meaning to, he just kind of melted and purred even louder. He didn't know he could do that, but at least it seemed to distract Andrew, whose thighs lost some of their stiffness. 

Neil lost track of time while Andrew kept petting him. He moved his hand in a repetitive motion, from Neil's head to the base of his tail, occasionally stopping to give a few scratches behind his ears. Neil could have stayed like that forever. 

They were, however, interrupted by a loud voice ringing through the door. 

“Andrew? Where are you? It's late and we want to go home!” 

Andrew stiffened but before he could do anything the door opened and two men stepped out. One was tall with black hair, dark brown eyes, and dark skin, while the other looked just like Andrew. A twin then. They looked identical enough that Neil wondered if he always met with Andrew. But even twins smell differently, and he never noticed something off with Andrew's smell. 

“What the fuck,” said the twin. 

“Yes Andrew, what the fuck?” the taller man added,”You disappeared in the middle of the night and no one knew where you were! You'll be fired if that continues, no matter how much Roland likes you. And now we find you out here cuddling with a cat of all things. I'm surprised you haven't killed it yet.” 

He turned to face Neil more fully and crouched down. 

“Hey there, cutie, are you sure you want to spend time with this grump?” he said and extended a hand as if to pet Neil, who hissed and swatted at his hand. 

“Okay then,” the man said and laughed,”the cutie obviously loves you, Andrew.” 

“Shut up, Nicky.” 

Andrew scoffed and stood up, without giving Neil the chance to get off first. Neil hissed, offended. The look Andrew threw him seemed to ask what Neil was going to do about it. By now, Neil knew enough about Andrew to be sure he wouldn't actually harm an animal, so he decided to be petty. He jumped at Andrew's leg and started climbing until he was once more perched on Andrew's shoulder. Once up there, he started purring and aggressively rubbing his head on every part of Andrew he could reach.

Nicky burst out laughing and the twin stared at them incredulously. 

“What the fuck,” he said. Neil wondered briefly if he could say anything else. Andrew turned his head to face Neil. Neil had a good guess on what Andrew would do, so he licked up a strip on Andrew's nose to distract him. It worked, and in the moment Andrew's face screwed up in disgust, Neil jumped onto the floor and sauntered away. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ 

Over the span of the next few weeks, Neil spent a lot of time with Andrew. Friday through Sunday, Andrew appeared behind the club without fail. He stayed out there for half an hour for his break and then disappeared inside again. Neil kept climbing onto Andrew's shoulder to annoy him, but he had to admit that it was a nice spot to be. Andrew's shoulders were broad for someone so small, and Andrew didn't seem to mind being Neil's new lookout spot. 

Neil was pawing at a stray piece of hair when he heard it. 

The voices weren't loud, but Neil could locate them roughly around the corner of the alley. They were hostile and Neil's attention was fully captured once he recognized Nicky's voice among them. Even from this distance he sounded scared. 

Without thinking, Neil jumped off and started tugging insistently at Andrew's pant leg. When that didn't get a reaction beside a raised eyebrow, he started pacing in the direction of the voices, meowing all the while. 

“If you think I'll follow you to some dirty place you want to show me you're mistaken,” he said and Neil hissed at him, still pacing. 

Andrew sighed and pushed off from where he was leaning against the wall. 

“Well?” he asked Neil, who ran towards the voices, checking if Andrew was following him. 

Nicky cried out in pain and Andrew immediately took off running, Neil hot on his heels. The scene they arrived to was telling, four men in a half circle around Nicky, who was already lying on the floor and bleeding profusely from a wound on his head. 

Andrew moved before Neil had taken in the scene completely. The first one hit the floor and didn't get up. From then on it was a full on brawl, three against one. The men didn't stand a chance, even though they outnumbered Andrew, and all had at least a foot on him. 

Neil watched as if in a trance. Violence was nothing new for him, but he only ever saw this kind of protective fury from his mother. Until now, Neil didn't have the impression that Andrew was particularly fond of Nicky, but he clearly was wrong about that. 

There was only one man left standing, though he was visibly worse for wear. Andrew had a few bruises already, but he was still standing strong, while his opponent was limping and uncoordinated. Neil got a look of Andrew's face and realized that he wouldn't stop when the last man went down. There was no triumph in his eyes, only cold fury. 

Neil didn't make the decision consciously. He turned around and disappeared behind the corner, checked to see if there was anyone who could see him, and shifted back to his human form. Then he ran back towards the fight where Andrew had just defeated his last opponent. He stepped towards the prone form of the man, ready to kick him some more when Neil hauled him back from behind. 

This was a mistake, Neil thought as the first punch hit him hard. He didn't even know why he was doing this, but apparently he was stupid, and had actually come to like Andrew during the past few weeks. He knew that if Andrew continued to take out his anger on the already unconscious men there would be no way for him to plead self defense in court. Inexplicably, Neil didn't want Andrew to face consequences for protecting someone. 

It was easier said than done though. Neil only had to keep Andrew occupied until someone came to check out the commotion, but he didn't know how long he could hold out. After being caught off guard because Neil attacked him from behind, Andrew had taken out knives from somewhere and now Neil was bleeding from cuts at his shoulder and thigh. Neil had to fight the urge to run away and never come back. But he had started this and now he would see it through. 

It had only been a minute but Neil felt like hours had passed when someone entered the alleyway and shouted. Neil turned around and ran, not wanting to be seen. There was nothing more he could do now and he had wounds to tend to. The next few weeks he wouldn't be able to move at full capacity. 

This was a mistake, Neil thought again, but couldn't bring himself to regret it. He just hoped he had helped Andrew somehow.

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ 

Neil couldn't afford to be seen injured as a human, so he stayed as a cat and hoped he didn't get an infection. He didn't want to travel far with multiple cuts that could re-open at any time, and he definitely didn't want to be at the mercy of someone taking pity on the poor abused cat. 

He knew he looked bad, and staying under a trashcan behind a club wouldn't make things any better, but he just needed to hold out until he could run without re-opening his wounds. Besides, food and water were relatively easy to get to from this position, so he couldn't really complain. 

Almost a week later Neil started getting anxious. What if Andrew didn't return? What if he was fired? Then Neil would never know if his stupid sacrifice had been worth it. Neil was no stranger to making mistakes, but he was still nervous thinking about it. He went against all his promises to his mother just for a stranger that he wouldn't ever see again. She would have beaten him senseless if she were alive. 

But then, if she were alive they would still be running from town to town without ever stopping to actually live. He felt guilty thinking that, but he enjoyed the time he spent with Andrew, the feeling of knowing someone, even if he was just a cat to them. Being recognized and maybe even missed should he disappear. But Andrew was the one that might never come back so Neil might just have to move on too. 

He was still feeling sorry for himself when the door opened and Andrew stepped through. He looked around like he always did if Neil wasn't already waiting for him, but his face was even blanker than usual. Neil didn't think that was possible. 

Neil felt self-conscious now. He didn't know how Andrew would react to his wounds and he didn't know if he even wanted to find out. He was still trying to decide when Andrew spoke up. 

“I can see you under the trashcan, don't ignore me. I even brought you some chicken.” 

Neil had survived during the last few days but chicken sounded heavenly. He decided to risk it. Maybe Andrew would feel sorry for him and bring him some more tomorrow. 

He started limping towards Andrew and meowed. It sounded more pitiful than he intended. Andrew's gaze hardened and he crouched down. When Neil reached him, he bumped his head into Andrew's knee and immediately regretted it. He forgot the bruise on his face. It was better already but direct contact still hurt. 

Andrew must have felt him flinch because he didn't touch Neil. Usually he would scratch behind Neil's ears for a bit, but today he was just looking. Neil felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny but he was hungrier than he thought so he meowed again. Still pitiful. 

The chicken was laid carefully in front of him and Neil started wolfing it down. Andrew was still looking at him but he really didn't care right now. Out of the corner of his eye he could see one of Andrew's hands clench into a fist, shaking lightly. Maybe he should have felt threatened, considering Andrew was the one who inflicted these wounds, but in the end Neil knew what he had been getting into when he pulled Andrew back from the other men. 

When he finished he looked up to Andrew's face. He looked stony but his eyes held an emotion Neil couldn't place. He wondered what would happen now. Would Andrew just leave him like this, or would he do something? Maybe he was the type of person that didn't care about animals being injured, but Neil somehow couldn't imagine that. 

Stiffly, Andrew got up and walked towards the door. Neil felt disappointed even though he didn't want to. 

“Stay here,” Andrew said before walking back inside. Neil was too confused to do anything but obey. 

A few minutes later, Andrew came back outside carrying a carton box. He set it down and crouched beside Neil, who limped over to sniff at the box. A hand appeared in front of his face and then carefully wandered down his torso. Neil realized Andrew intended to pick him up when Andrew put two hands under Neil's rib cage. Neil didn't resist so Andrew lifted him up and set him down inside the box. It was cushioned with a sweater that smelled like Andrew. It had to be the softest thing Neil had felt in weeks and he curled up carefully inside the warmth. 

He spaced out a bit, knowing that Andrew wouldn't let any more harm come to him, but snapped back to attention when he heard Andrew speak. 

“Tell the boss I'm taking the rest of the night off, I'm going home,” he said into his cellphone. Neil could make out an outraged response on the other end of the line. 

“I don't care, take a taxi or something,” Andrew said and ended the phone call. 

The box was picked up, jostling Neil a bit. It didn't hurt thought so he kept quiet. Neil could only see the side of the buildings and the sky move above the rim of the box, but soon enough he heard a car door open, and then the box was strapped into the passenger seat of a car. 

Andrew got into the drivers seat and by the time they started driving Neil was already asleep. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ 

Waking up was painful, but in spite of the pain, Neil felt better than he had in quite a while. The surface he was sleeping on was soft and he burrowed a little deeper into it and let out a content purr. 

“Aaaaaw, Andrew your cat is so cute,” a voice above him whispered. Neil stiffened on reflex when he didn't recognize it immediately. Hearing Andrew's voice reply made him relax again and Neil could have kicked himself for this kind of instinctual trust. 

“It's a pest,” Andrew said. Nicky laughed quietly. 

“Sure it is, that's why you brought it home with you.” 

Andrew didn't reply to that, but Neil felt the ground under him move as his box was picked up. Neil made a noise of complaint that was predictably ignored. 

“You're not going to take it back to Eden's, are you?” Nicky asked, sounding uncertain. 

“Don't be stupid,” Andrew replied,”I'm going to the vet.” 

Nicky seemed pleased by this, if the lack of reply was any indication. Neil tensed again. He couldn't move too well, and vets made him nervous, but he really needed some kind of medical attention. He took a moment to fiercely miss his mother, who would have taken care of his injuries. 

The ride to the vet was silent and Neil could practically feel Andrew's displeasure while sitting in the waiting room. Neil was on edge the whole time but he kept still and endured. He had run away with worse injuries, he could flee if he needed to. 

The actual appointment was shorter than Neil expected. The vet cleaned his wounds and gave Andrew instructions on how to care for them, while an assistant asked Andrew questions about how he found Neil and if he intended to keep him. 

Neil would have thought that Andrew would gladly get rid of him the moment an opportunity presented itself, but Andrew refused the vet's offer to take Neil to the animal shelter. Apparently, Neil had been adopted. He found he didn't mind, as long as Andrew didn't get the idea that Neil should be neutered. 

“It's great that you want to keep him, but we still have to contact local animal shelters to ask them if a cat matching his description has been reported as missing. As far as we can tell, he's an Abyssinian cat. Cats with distinguishable breeds like that usually aren't strays. For now you can take him home and we'll let you know if someone is looking for him. You should definitely come back to get him neutered if you're keeping him though,” the assistant explained. 

Andrew offered nothing in return but the assistant didn't seem to mind. She just handed him a stack of papers and told him how much he had to pay when the appointment was over. 

On the way back to Andrew's house, Neil already felt better. He hadn't noticed how bad his wounds had gotten while he stayed under that trashcan. After weeks on guard, he finally felt himself relax. Andrew was safe - if he had wanted to hurt Neil he could have done so before paying a frankly ridiculous amount of money to a vet. 

Nicky was waiting for them when they returned, smiling into the box when they entered the house.

“You kept it!” he said cooing at Neil next,”Hello there cutie!” 

Neil had dealt with overly enthusiastic people before, but he never had to live with one. He'd hoped that he could just sleep for a bit after returning to Andrew's house again, but that hope quickly died when Andrew deposited Neil's box in Nicky's arms. 

“I'm going out,” was the only comment Nicky and Neil got before he was out of the door again. Neil felt vaguely betrayed for reasons he couldn't figure out. 

“I guess it's just you, Aaron and me then,” Nicky said. Aaron must have been the name of Andrew's twin. Neil yawned and pretended to fall asleep, not willing to deal with Nicky right then. Nicky cooed a bit at the sight and gently deposited Neil's box on the couch. 

A few hours later, Neil heard a car park in front again. He stretched and peered over the rim of the box to see if Andrew had come back. Sure enough, Andrew was carrying a big bag full of stuff in one hand and a litter box in the other. Apparently, he was taking this cat owner thing seriously. 

Andrew had bought enough stuff to make two trips to the car necessary. While he was gone Neil ungracefully climbed out of the box to inspect the bag Andrew put down in the kitchen. 

Neil heard steps on the stairs announcing two people and then Nicky and Aaron came into the kitchen to see what was going on, both sporting equally surprised expressions when they spotted all the stuff Andrew had bought for Neil. 

Andrew walked past the kitchen carrying a tall cat tower, presumably taking it to his room. 

“Wow he really likes you, huh,” Nicky said to Neil. Aaron shot Nicky a shocked look. 

“What is even going on?” Aaron asked, ”Why is the cat from Eden's here and why did Andrew buy all this stuff?”

“Apparently Andrew adopted it,” Nicky responded. “

No shit, but why? He doesn't care about things,” Aaron said. He sounded as if he really couldn't wrap his head around the concept of Andrew caring about things. Neil felt slightly offended on Andrew's behalf. 

“This little guy seems to be the exception,” Nicky said. 

Neil didn't know how to feel about that, so he decided to look for Andrew. The way up the stairs was slow and kind of painful but Neil could deal. He sniffed out Andrew's room and was relieved that the door was already open. Andrew was inside setting up the cat tower. 

When he saw Neil, he scowled. 

“You're an idiot,” he said, the gentle way he picked Neil up a direct contradiction to his sharp tone. Neil meowed in response. 

He was put onto Andrew's bed in the corner of the room and fiercely told to stay there. Neil wondered if Andrew knew commands would hardly work on cats, but he was tired and Andrew's bed was soft and smelled safe, so he curled up again and took another nap.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> This was supposed to be a multi-chapter fic originally but I hit a wall while planning out the rest of it. There were too many possible directions that this could take and then I got insecure about the whole thing. But I really like what I've written so far so here it is!
> 
> If you liked this, I would be very very happy about comments!


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